John Hughes (archbishop of New York)

John Hughes (archbishop Of New York)

John Joseph Hughes (June 24, 1797 – January 3, 1864), was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the fourth Bishop and first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, serving between 1842 and his death in 1864.

A native of Ireland, Hughes was born and raised in the south of County Tyrone. Hughes came to the United States in 1817, and became a priest in 1826 and a bishop in 1838. A figure of national prominence, he exercised great moral and social influence, and presided over a period of explosive growth for Catholicism in New York. He was regarded as "the best known, if not exactly the best loved, Catholic bishop in the country." He also became known as "Dagger John" for his practice of signing his name with a dagger-like cross, as well as for his aggressive personality.